Goldeyes lock up top pitcher Rusch

There was a Rusch of talent re-joining the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team on Wednesday.

Right-handed pitcher Matt Rusch, who led the American Association champion Goldeyes and the entire league with a 2.40 ERA last season, has been signed by the Goldeyes for the 2013 season.

TREVOR HAGAN / FREE PRESS ARCHIVES

Matt Rusch led the American Association champion Goldeyes and the entire league with a 2.40 ERA last season.

Rusch, 29, was the pitcher of record when the Goldeyes clinched a playoff spot, when they defeated the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the deciding Game 3 of their American Association Divisional Series and when they won the AA championship in Game 3 against the Wichita Wingnuts.

"We are thrilled to have him coming back," Goldeyes manager Rick Forney said in a media release. "He's a very talented guy. He has good fastball command and a solid approach. He certainly executes pitches at a higher level than most guys that you see in this league. Hopefully he can come in, make 20 or more starts and log 120 or more innings. If he’s able to do that, then I am sure he’ll have the opportunity to win 10 ball games again for us."

Rusch, a native of Schenectady, N.Y. who now resides in Winnipeg, made 21 starts for the Goldeyes and posted a 10-4 record. He struck out a league-leading 113 opposing hitters in 139 innings of work.

Aside from leading the league in ERA and strikeouts, Rusch’s 10 wins were tied for fifth in the American Association and his 21 starts were tied for second in the league. In the playoffs, he was a perfect 2-0 with 2.08 ERA in Winnipeg’s championship run.

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